Quality preschool is a necessity for Australian families

Quality preschool can deliver $2 for every $1 from government. But some families pay more for childcare than private primary school costs.

The Australian government recognises that helping families balance work and family life is a worthwhile investment. The childcare subsidy is designed to make it easier for families to work, especially working parents on lower incomes.

One problem with subsidies to working families is that children miss out if either parent is unemployed. These children stand to gain most from quality early childhood services, which deliver greatest benefits for children from lower-income homes.

Source: Quality preschool is a necessity for Australian families

Seeking Feminist Future: an evening of feminist ideas Tickets, Fri 21/02/2020 at 6:30 pm | Eventbrite

Remember when forums about women’s rights were held publicly, in the open and considered a legitimate political movement? Wondering why that changed? Come to hear and talk about it in Sydney with a panel featuring feminist speakers from Australia and New Zealand.Seeking Feminist Future: A conversation on feminism exploring gender critical ideas.

Source: Seeking Feminist Future: an evening of feminist ideas Tickets, Fri 21/02/2020 at 6:30 pm | Eventbrite

Police who warned man about ‘transphobic’ tweet acted unlawfully

High court finds actions of Humberside police had ‘chilling effect’ on Harry Miller’s right to free speech.

In a strongly-worded judgement, Mr Justice Julian Knowles said the effect of police turning up at Miller’s place of work “because of his political opinions must not be underestimated”.

He said: “In this country we have never had a Cheka, a Gestapo or a Stasi. We have never lived in an Orwellian society,” he said.

Source: Police who warned man about ‘transphobic’ tweet acted unlawfully | Society | The Guardian

Three female students file lawsuit against Connecticut transgender-athlete policy – Washington Times

Three female high school athletes filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday challenging Connecticut’s prep sports rules that allow biological males to compete against girls, arguing that the policy robs them

Source: Three female students file lawsuit against Connecticut transgender-athlete policy – Washington Times

Trafficking industry hit as ‘sex worker’ chatbots fool thousands

Campaign to lure men seeking to buy sex triggers big decline in online searches in Seattle.

During a two-year period, Seattle Against Slavery posted fake online adverts that connected people with chatbots that initially posed as sex workers, before delivering a deterrence message. The campaign, which also involved placing more than 2m Google adverts warning people of the risks of buying sex online, led to a 50% decline in online searches for keywords such as “teen escort”.

Source: Trafficking industry hit as ‘sex worker’ chatbots fool thousands | Society | The Guardian

It’s Black Breastfeeding Week. Wondering why? One gut-punching poem says it all.

Yes, there is something unique about black breastfeeding. Several somethings, actually.

For most of U.S. history, generation upon generation upon generation of black families were torn apart. Black mothers were often not allowed to nourish and raise their own babies, but were forced to nourish and raise the babies of their enslavers. For most of U.S. history, black breastfeeding meant wet nursing white babies, often at the expense of a black woman’s own children.

Source: It’s Black Breastfeeding Week. Wondering why? One gut-punching poem says it all. – Upworthy

How Australia introduced ‘no-fault divorce’ — and why our family law system is under review again

For decades, if you wanted a divorce in Australia, you had to prove your spouse was to blame.

This all changed in 1975 with the introduction of “no-fault” divorce and the Family Court system.

Since its implementation, the family law system has been the subject of dozens of inquiries and amendments.

Patrick Parkinson, the Dean of Law at the University of Queensland, says when considering family law reform, it’s important to remember that the Family Court deals with much more than just marital disputes.

“It’s essential that you start with the proposition that disproportionately we are dealing with violence, abuse, mental illness and drug and alcohol abuse,” he says.

“If you understand that then you can probably understand that the adversarial system and decision-making by lawyers, many of whom have commercial law backgrounds, is not fit for purpose for dealing with those sorts of issues.”

Source: How Australia introduced ‘no-fault divorce’ — and why our family law system is under review again – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Doctors Advise How to ‘Override’ Parents’ Refusal of Trans Medical Treatment for Children

“Gender-affirming” doctors authored an article in the Journal of Medical Ethics of the BMJ (British Medical Journal) in which they advise the trans industry how they can prevail over parents who are reluctant to allow their children to participate in treatments, such as puberty blocker, cross-sex hormones, and surgeries.

Dr. Michelle Cretella, executive director of the American College of Pediatricians, confirmed to Breitbart News Dubin and colleagues “make the case for a child’s right to self-consent to puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and body-modifying surgeries – with state override of resistant parents.”

“Parents are already losing their children over this issue,” she said, adding:

Sadly, with a few exceptions, the medical establishment is placing sexual ideology and profits above children’s health and well-being. While opposition to the transition of youth is being painted as a “right-wing” movement, this label cannot apply to the Australian College of Physicians,  the Royal College of General Practitioners in the United Kingdom, and the Swedish National Council for Medical Ethics, all of whom characterize prescribing puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones in youth as experimental and dangerous. Similarly, world-renowned child psychiatrist Dr. Christopher Gillberg has referred to this as “possibly one of the greatest scandal­s in medical history” and his neuro­psychiatry research group at Gothenburg University has called for “an immediate moratorium on the use of puberty blocker drugs because of their unknown long-term effects.”

Source: Doctors Advise How to ‘Override’ Parents’ Refusal of Trans Medical Treatment for Children